Hungarian Football Federation

Koeman pleased with Magyars' footballing gift

Published: Tuesday 2 December 2008, 19.16CET

National-team coach Erwin Koeman has received a reminder of Hungary's one-time status as a football superpower after being presented with a DVD of the Magical Magyars' 6-3 friendly victory against England in 1953.

Koeman pleased with Magyars' footballing gift

National-team coach Erwin Koeman has received a reminder of Hungary's one-time status as a football superpower after being presented with a DVD of the Magical Magyars' 6-3 friendly victory against England in 1953.

National-team coach Erwin Koeman has received a reminder of Hungary's one-time status as a footballing superpower after being presented with a DVD of the Magical Magyars' 6-3 friendly victory against England from November 1953.

Revolutionary formationHungary became the first team from outside the British Isles to beat England at Wembley on 25 November 1953, a 6-3 triumph announcing them as the pre-eminent footballing force of their age. The 3-2-5 formation, with Nándor Hidegkuti playing as a withdrawn striker, utterly bamboozled the home side, while Ferenc Puskás dazzled as a forward.

'The wrong fire'According to legend, one of the England players took a look at Puskás in the pre-match warm up and said to a team-mate: "Look at that little fat chap. We'll murder this lot." England captain Billy Wright's attempt to tackle Puskás prior to one of the goals was reported in the Times newspaper with the immortal line: "Wright went past him like a fire engine going to the wrong fire."

Christmas viewingIncredibly, this is the first time that a complete rerun of this epochal game has been available in Hungary. Having been presented with a copy of the DVD by former Hungarian Football Association president György Szepesi, Koeman said: "I know about the famous 6-3 win as the referee was the famous Leo Horn from the Netherlands. I look forward to watching this during the Christmas break."

Class reunionTo mark the launch, the two surviving players from that side, Jenő Buzánszky and Gyula Grosics, met up with relatives of their other team-mates – Gyula Lóránt, Mihály Lantos, József Zakariás, József Bozsik, László Budai, Hidegkuti, Puskás, Sándor Kocsis and Zoltán Czibor – at a restaurant in Budapest to share memories of their glory days.

The UEFA word, the UEFA logo and all marks related to UEFA competitions, are protected by trade marks and/or copyright of UEFA. No use for commercial purposes may be made of such trade marks. Use of UEFA.com signifies your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.